PALIN DEBATE COVERAGE…overall, great articles from around the country on how Governor Palin did during the debates. I think the governor accomplished everything the campaign needed and proved she was ready for prime time. Now it’s back to the main show…McCain vs Obama.

MICHIGAN EFFORTS…the response and excitement from Michigan Republicans has been overwhelming. We have received calls, emails and numerous online contributions to help fund our Michigan effort for the next 30 some days.

We are working on a revised plan as we figure out the net effect of the McCain campaign’s pull-out from Michigan. We have targeted our efforts to make sure we are providing the support necessary for our "down-line" candidates that can be seriously damaged when you lose the "air support" and staffing of the presidential campaign. We have some huge challenges and lots of work to do to make up this unexpected hole in our statewide efforts.

Our initial Victory Centers are all remaining open at this time and we are looking for volunteer efforts to continue each and every day. Many of you have been asking for more specifics, but hang in there, we are getting new information daily…even by the hour. We are specifically working with our congressional, state house and court candidates to limit the negative effects this move will have on our ticket.

I was on a conference call with Rick Davis yesterday, the McCain Campaign Manager and he just flat out said that polling numbers provide better opportunities elsewhere at this time and they are pulling out of Michigan. He did say they would continue to monitor our progress and if the situation changed, they would consider reengaging.

In spite of the adversity thrown at us yesterday, I want to say thanks to all of you for your continued support and never ending commitment to help turn Michigan around. Together, we can make a difference!

SARAH PALIN ON MICHIGAN…go Sarah, go! In an interview yesterday, Governor Sarah Palin said she wasn’t ready to give up on Michigan. We would love to have her here…anytime!

HOOGENDYK WITH BROOKS PATTERSON…Oakland County Executive L. Brook Patterson will be a special guest for the Hoogendyk for U.S. Senate campaign on Monday, October 6th. For more information contact Sandra Baxter (248) 514-6884 or email her at sandrabaxtere@aol.com.

MICHIGAN MATTERS…taped "Michigan Matters" with Carol Cain, which will air this weekend. "Michigan Matters" airs Sunday on CBS Detroit Channel 62 at 11 a.m. This week Dem Chair Mark Brewer and I talk about Hoogendyk, Taylor, Knollenberg and Walberg.

In the aftermath of John McCain’s decision to pull out of Michigan, Republicans in the state are expressing shock and bewilderment at his move-and aren’t willing to cede the state’s 17 electoral votes just yet.

"We’re blindsided, along with everybody else in Michigan," said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "I feel like I woke up this morning and there was a note on my pillow."

"When the general leaves the battlefield when the fight’s still going on, it creates a lot of chaos," he said.

(CNN) – John McCain’s decision to pull out of Michigan prompted the state Republican Party chairman to issue a desperate plea Friday for donations to help fund political activities the presidential campaign would likely have shouldered.

"I won’t sugar coat it; the McCain Campaign’s decision to pull out of Michigan is a tough blow," Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, wrote in an email fundraising solicitation to Republicans. "But we cannot let it deter us."

"I want to get back to Michigan and I want to try," the Republican vice presidential nominee told Fox News Channel on Friday.

Palin told Fox reporter Carl Cameron that the John McCain campaign’s decision Thursday to pull out of Michigan was "not a surprise because … the polls are showing we are not doing as well there as evidently we would like to."

WASHINGTON (AP) – When Democrats scanned the political map for vulnerable House Republicans more than two years ago, there weren’t many tantalizing prospects in Michigan.

But two close elections in 2006 placed bulls-eyes on the backs of Republican Reps. Tim Walberg and Joe Knollenberg, generating a pair of well-funded challengers who hope to put the districts in the Democratic column.

Walberg, a freshman who defeated Republican Rep. Joe Schwarz in a contentious 2006 primary, faces state Senate Democratic Leader Mark Schauer of Battle Creek in a south-central Michigan district. Knollenberg, who was first elected in his Oakland County district in 1992, takes on Democrat Gary Peters, a former state lawmaker and state lottery commissioner.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Two years ago, Democrats capitalized on having an incumbent Democratic governor at the top of the ticket, dissatisfaction with President Bush and some anti-Lansing sentiment to grab control of the Michigan House of Representatives for the first time since the late 1990s.

Democrats are hopeful they can build on their 58-52 edge in the House this November. They’ll also try to prevent a recall of their leader, House Speaker Andy Dillon.

Dillon, a Democrat from Wayne County’s Redford Township, faces one of the oddest Election Day combinations in Michigan history.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) – To have a shot at unseating incumbent Clifford Taylor from the Michigan Supreme Court, challenger Diane Marie Hathaway wants voters to fill out the entire ballot.

There’s typically a significant dropoff in the number of votes cast for partisan and nonpartisan races. The high court race is on the nonpartisan section of the ballot, though political parties nominate the candidates.

"We think if enough people vote the nonpartisan part, we can win this race," said Hathaway, a Democratic nominee and 15-year Wayne County circuit judge. Libertarian Robert Roddis also is a candidate.

(AP) – Democrats hold 58 of the seats in the state House, while Republicans hold 52. All of them are up for grabs in the November election. Here are a few of the more interesting races to watch:

1st District: Republican Mary Treder Lang, an accountant, and Democrat Timothy Bledsoe, a Wayne State University political science professor, square off for this open Wayne County seat. Moderate Republican Ed Gaffney of Grosse Pointe Farms is giving up the seat because of term limits. Both candidates survived tough primaries against several opponents.

17th District: Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon of Wayne County’s Redford Township faces a strange Election Day. He’s challenged by underdog Republican Sandra Eggers in the general election and he also faces a recall vote over his decision to support last year’s tax increases in Michigan. Eggers has been active in the recall effort.

WASHINGTON (AP) – With the economy on the brink of meltdown and elections looming, a reluctant Congress abruptly reversed course and approved a historic $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry on Friday. President Bush swiftly signed it.

The 263-171 vote capped two weeks of tumult in Congress and on Wall Street, punctuated by urgent warnings from Bush that the country confronted the gravest economic disaster since the Great Depression if lawmakers failed to act.

"We have acted boldly to help prevent the crisis on Wall Street from becoming a crisis in communities across our country," Bush said shortly after the plan cleared Congress, although he conceded, "our economy continues to face serious challenges."

Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama’s character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat’s judgment, honesty and personal associations, several top Republicans said.

With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain’s team has decided that its emphasis on the senator’s biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama. The Arizonan’s campaign is also eager to move the conversation away from the economy, an issue that strongly favors Obama and has helped him to a lead in many recent polls.

"We’re going to get a little tougher," a senior Republican operative said, indicating that a fresh batch of television ads is coming. "We’ve got to question this guy’s associations. Very soon. There’s no question that we have to change the subject here," said the operative, who was not authorized to discuss strategy and spoke on the condition of anonymity.